Hiva Oa Atuona Cruises

Hiva Oa is one of the islands discovered and named by Mendaña in 1595. He named the island La Dominica. The main town is Atuona on the southern shore and is within Traitors Bay (Taaoa). Above the steady rumble of the Pacific surge, the sharply sculpted mountains of Hiva Oa hide their summits in the mists of rain-filled clouds. The largest and most fertile island in the southern group of the Marquesas, Hiva Oa has deep valleys, lush plateaus and thickly wooded forests. Located 740 miles northeast of Tahiti, the town of Atuona is the administrative center for the southern Marquesas. Framed in a theater of mountains with the Bay of Traitors providing safe anchorage, Atuona is a favorite port of call for yachts and copra ships.